AFTER learning how to walk and talk following a serious car crash, a man is taking on the Great North Run to raise funds for the service that saved his life.
In 2019, whilst at work, Lawrence Urwin, from Corbridge, suffered head and body injuries after the car he was a passenger in collided with another vehicle near Wooler.
Among his severe injuries, he fractured his spine in two places, broke his pelvis, snapped a rib, punctured and collapsed his lungs, ruptured his spleen and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Doctors placed Lawrence into a coma for three weeks and were initially deeply concerned about his condition, telling his parents several times that he might not survive, he said.
Although he did survive, the crash left Lawrence, who will be 28 in February, spending six weeks in intensive care and initially unable to walk or talk.
The then British Army reserve was discharged from the army - a career he had spent his life dreaming about - and had to learn to do "everything again".
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Now, seven years on, following years of rehab, the aspiring personal trainer (PT) is running the 2026 Great North Run (GNR) to "raise money" and "give back" to the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), which airlifted him to hospital and helped save his life.
"I've just finished my recovery, and I wanted to do something. I now go to the gym, and I train six days a week, and I've also started running, he said.
"I want to do the GNR to raise money and give back to the community, especially to the GNAAS, who provide such a rapid response - if it wasn't for them, I could have been dead at the scene."
Lawrence, currently training for a level two PT qualification, is aiming for a sub-two-hour finish and will be "highly disappointed" if he doesn't achieve it.
Through the GNR, he's aiming to raise £2,000 for the GNAAS. Find the link to his fundraiser via: https://www.justgiving.com/page/lawrence-urwin-gnaas?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
Lawrence, now through the worst of his rehab, still has to contend with "invisible injuries" like memory loss, fatigue, and conditions like diabetes insipidus. He will also have to take phenoxymethylpenicillin - a penicillin antibiotic - for the rest of his life.
Seven years on, Lawrence says recovery is still ongoing - but he’s ready to "adapt, challenge, and conquer" whatever comes next.
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